Thurible, also called censer, vessel used in the Christian liturgy for the burning of aromatic incense strewn on lighted coals. Censers of terra-cotta or metal were widely used in Egypt, in the ancient Middle Eastern civilizations, including the Jewish, and in the classical world. Because they were destined chiefly for religious worship, above all in funeral rites, they were often the object of artistic effort. The shapes varied. Both an open bowl with a handle or with chains for carrying and a closed receptacle with openings for smoke to escape were known.

The earliest evidence of the thurible in Christian usage is found in the 4th century, when the Roman emperor Constantine is said to have donated several to the Church of San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran) in Rome. Their purpose, however, was only to add fragrance to the church. The first strictly liturgical use in the West dates from the 7th century, when thuribles were employed in ritual gestures of honour for the bishop and the book of Gospels. In the course of the centuries, the Christian thurible assumed various artistic and often highly ornate shapes. Whether in the earlier open or the subsequent more closed form, it has generally been carried by means of three or four chains attached to a central ring. In the Eastern liturgies the thurible plays a far more prominent role than it does in those of the West.

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...which sometimes had handles, and in cauldrons placed on or beside the altar or outside the temple. In pre-Columbian Mexico and Peru, incense burners were made of terra-cotta and sometimes of gold. Censers of precious metal provided with chains for hanging have been used since the 4th century in Christian churches, and the rite of swinging the censer is practiced in many rituals, both Christian...

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A censer, or thurible, is used in many Christian services for the burning of incense. Censers of terra-cotta or metal were widely used in ancient Egypt, in other early Middle Eastern civilizations, including the Jewish, and in the classical eras of early Greece and Rome. Artists often designed or decorated censers, because the objects were used primarily for religious worship, especially in funerals. In censers, fragrant incense is strewn on burning coals. An early kind of censer was an open bowl with a handle. A later kind was a closed receptacle with openings that allowed smoke to escape.